Law Times

Law Times • November 1, 2010 FOCUS PAGE 11 Young lawyers shunning real estate law Increasing costs, added complexities make for less attractive area of practice BY DARYL-LYNN CARLSON For Law Times I t's becoming evident that fewer new lawyers are choosing to focus their practice on real estate law. While there are no specific statistics that indicate the de- cline in interest in the field, senior lawyers who practise in it and host educational ses- sions on the topic have noticed that many of the practitioners in attendance have been older with few recent calls to the bar showing up. The problem could very well be that with an increase in fees to do a real estate transaction, there's ultimately little money to be made from it. For example, it now costs lawyers $70 to register a document with Teranet. "We are definitely not seeing the number of young lawyers going into real estate practice that we have in previous years," says Don Thomson, a real estate lawyer at Walker Ellis and chair- man of the Ontario Bar Asso- ciation's real property section. According to Thomson, the main reason may just be the costs involved for real estate lawyers to facilitate a transaction, which he notes have increased significantly over recent years. "If you're going to practise in the real estate area and fol- lowing all the steps to be thor- ough and put the time into it, you just can't do it for the price that some lawyers are charg- ing," he says. "You simply can't do a transaction for the low fee that some lawyers are charg- ing as you'd have to be doing a significant volume if you're not going to charge a high fee." He points out as well that there are fewer educational pro- grams offered specifically for real estate law and notes that the tra- ditional bar admission real estate course was scrapped in 2005. While the Law Society of Upper Canada has since pub- lished its Real Estate Practice Guide, it's not necessarily enough to pique the interest of young lawyers in areas such as commercial real estate that could be lucrative. At the same time, although some large firms have in-house education- al programs for young lawyers to educate them about the nu- ances of real estate law so they can boost their practices with new blood, there's otherwise an alarming dearth of people interested in it as a profitable and satisfying area to work in. "It is an issue that concerns me," Thomson says. Sidney Troister, a real estate practitioner at Torkin Manes LLP in Toronto, says he's ex- tremely concerned about the aging of the real estate bar and the apparent lack of interest by young lawyers. Speaking at a recent session about requisi- tions of title sponsored by the young lawyers' division of the OBA, he couldn't help but no- tice the low attendance. noticed that the mean age of the lawyers in attendance was probably at least 45. "Blame is probably wide- spread," Troister says. "Real property law education is not a high priority in the law schools, which seem to focus their cur- riculum on Bay Street." As well, he notes there has 'We are definitely not seeing the number of young lawyers going into real estate practice that we have in previous years,' says Don Thomson. He also often provides edu- cational sessions for the real es- tate bar in smaller centres out- side of Toronto. Last year, on a visit to Thunder Bay, Ont., he been a significant reduction in educational programs. "The bar admission course and the in- tensive training in real proper- ty law is a shadow of its former self. And residential real estate practice itself has become com- moditized where price is king and title insurers are more than ready to assume the risks of less diligent practice standards. As a result, fewer lawyers are attract- ed to the practice, and practice standards have slipped." Troister adds: "Real property law and its practice have gotten more complicated as municipal law, landlord and tenant law, environmental law, planning law, contract, and general land law all affect transactions. More and more, lawyers don't know what they don't know." Changes in how work is done also have a role to play. "There is less lawyer mentoring in real estate law as work is del- egated to clerks and assistants," Troister says. That, coupled with increased complexities such as searches on Teranet and developments in title insurance, has left the field an increasingly challeng- ing practice area with few in- centives to encourage new practitioners to get involved. "The real estate bar is aging, and young lawyers aren't get- ting into it because they aren't interested in it," Troister says. "And even if they are, they can't do it very well because they haven't been trained." LT [ Keeping real estate transactions where they belong – in your office. ] At Stewart Title, it's how we work that sets us apart. We deal in title insurance and related products, under- taking no part of the transaction that has traditionally fallen to lawyers/notaries. Since our inception into the Canadian market, you will find that we have consistently combined com- prehensive coverage with unparalleled support for lawyers/notaries. We are dedicated to streamlining your practice and increasing your revenue through our programs and innovative technology solutions. At Stewart Title, we know it's our relationship with our customers that determines our success. That's why service is the foundation of our business and integrity, the keystone in all our dealings. Canadian Head Office (Toronto): (888) 667-5151 Atlantic Canada: (888) 757-0078 Western Canada: (866) 515-8401 Québec: (866) 235-9152 www.stewart.ca Untitled-9 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 10/26/09 3:36:58 PM

• Cover
• Child Protection
• Final Chapter?
• Focus On Real Estate Law